


two against one

by ixie_nay



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Borderlands Gift Exchange 2020, Kidnapping, M/M, Rescue, Short One Shot, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:34:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28351758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ixie_nay/pseuds/ixie_nay
Summary: Rhys gets abducted. Neither Jack nor Tim are happy about this.
Relationships: Handsome Jack/Timothy Lawrence/Rhys
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	two against one

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DiamondPony](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiamondPony/gifts).



> for the bl gift exchange! my giftee was @onediamondpony, who gets whumpy rhackothy for christmas
> 
> it's not terribly long, but i may expand this into a bigger fic later because i love rescue missions
> 
> happy holidays everybody, stay safe out there

Tim finds him first.

Rhys is slumped against the wall of the cell when Tim kicks the door in, arms cuffed to the wall above his head, no light in his ECHO-eye. There’s a probe shoved in his temple and blood dripping from his nose.

“Watch the door,” Tim tells the digis, then drops to his knees next to Rhys. His heart is pounding, his stomach performing clumsy gymnastics,  _ please don’t be dead please don’t be dead.  _ “Rhys? Hey, Rhys, you in there?”

Rhys makes the most pathetic noise Tim has ever heard. “Jack?” he whimpers, as Tim digs in his jacket for a healing hypo — wait, no, first disconnect him from whatever that probe is supposed to do, first do that — or maybe he should uncuff Rhys’s hands first — 

“Okay, okay, you’re not dead, that’s good,” says Tim, and maybe he’s babbling but Rhys does need to know he’s there even if he’s not sure what to do with his hands, “okay, uh, just — Christ, what were they trying to do, I heard you screaming all the way down the hall!”

“Oh, Tim,” says Rhys. He smiles, loopy. “Hi Timmy.”

“At least you recognize me,” says Tim, and decides on the probe; it’s probably disabling Rhys’s arm and he doesn’t want that falling down and clonking either of them on the head. “Uh, look, this, this is probably going to hurt, just,” and Rhys giggles, a reedy, terrifying noise that makes Tim’s stomach roll over. “Just. Just hold still for a sec, I’m gonna pull it on the count of three.”

He wraps his fingers around the probe. Maliwan-branded, white and blue and yellow, an arrow pointing to where it sinks into Rhys’s temple. Tim hates this, he hates doing this, what if he hurts Rhys? Hurting Rhys is the last thing he wants to do. The bastards haven’t left him any other choice.

Tim closes his eyes. He doesn’t want to see this. “One. Two. Three — ”

He yanks the prong free and Rhys  _ shrieks,  _ his entire lanky body seizing up for several seconds before collapsing into a horrible stillness.

“Jesus, Jesus, holy crap,” Tim mutters to himself, a little higher-pitched than usual but he doesn’t  _ care, _ Rhys is probably dying or something. “God I hope whoever else is here didn’t hear that, oh my God, how — Rhys, how many fingers am I holding up?”

He lifts Rhys’s chin, watches his eyes roll around until they somehow manage to lock on his hand. “Nngh...four,” he says, rough. His ECHO-Eye blinks, flickers unpleasantly. Still not working right.

“Okay, that’s good, uh.” Tim shuffles through his panicking brain. What else do you do for a concussion? Not that this is a concussion, it’s more of a having-a-foreign-OS-interacting-with-your-bionics kind of thing, but nobody ever taught him first aid for that. He pries the cuffs apart, careful not to let Rhys’s cyber arm fall. “Uh, what’s your name? First and last.”

Rhys licks his bloody lips and recites it. First, middle, last. He’s out of it but not quite delirious. “Knew you’d find me,” he says, sagging into Tim’s chest.

“Listen, we’re gonna get you out of here, okay? We’ll get you out of here. Just gotta — ”

_ “Let’s kill some bad guys!”  _ one of the digis shouts excitedly, amid unfamiliar yells of confusion and anger, and the electric sound of laser fire fills the air. Tim throws himself between Rhys and the door, shielding Rhys with his body; over all the noise, a roar of rage and triumph crescendos up the hallway.

“Jack,” Rhys sighs, through a dazed grin. “Those guys are  _ soooo  _ gonna get it.”

Tim’s been trying not to think about that. He doesn’t have the stomach for Jack’s brand of torture.

“C’mon, let’s get you back to Helios,” he says instead, and hoists Rhys up in a princess carry.

_ “YOU COWARD SONS OF TAINTS!”  _ Jack screams.

“My heroes,” says Rhys, and passes out.


End file.
